Guide bar lapping mechanism for warp knitting machines



Sept. 30, 1969 H. c. NOE 3,469,420

GUIDE BAR LAPPING MECHANISM FOR WARP KNITTING MACHINES original Filed Sept. 2; 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG.3

RNEY

INVENTOR H AROLD C NOE Sept. 30, 1969 H. c. NOE 3,469,420

GUIDE BAR LAPPING MECHANISM FOR WARP KNITTING MACHINES Original Filed Sept. 2. 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet r:

INVENTOR United States Patent 3,469,420 GUIDE BAR LAPPING MECHANISM FOR WARP- KNITTING MACHINES Harold C. Noe, Upper Montclair, N.J., assignor, by mesne assignments, to Walter Kidde & Company, Inc., Belleville, N.J., a corporation of New York Original application Sept. 2, 1965, Ser. No. 484,532, now Patent No. 3,350,901, dated Nov. 7, 1967. Divided and this application Nov. 6, 1967, Ser. No. 705,576

Int. Cl. D04b 23/16 US. Cl. 66-86 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A cam and lever system for shogging a guide bar of warp knitting machines including cam means for providing patterning motion of the guide bar and cam means for superimposing a lapping motion on the patterning motion.

This application is a division of application Ser. No. 484,532, filed Sept. 2, 1965, now Patent No. 3,350,901, Nov. 7, 1967.

The present invention relates to warp knitting machines, and more particularly to a mechanism for moving the guide bars of such machines to lap the yarn onto the needles.

Warp knitting machines such as raschel and tricot machines are equipped with a pattern chain or wheel for positioning the yarn guides with respect to a row of needles so that the yarn can be lapped onto certain needles to knit a desired pattern. The lapping of the yarn is accomplished by a combination of swinging and shogging motions.

Heretofore, the positioning and lapping of the yarn guides was produced by a chain of links which were provided with rises and dwells thereon for performing such motions.

At first, a so-called double link system was utilized wherein certain links positioned the yarn guides to control the pattern and other links moved the so positioned yarn guides to lap the yarn onto the needles. In such a system, each link had a surface to produce a single motion of the guide bar, whereby a large supply of a variety of links was required to be kept on hand in order to set up the machine to knit a wide selection of patterns. Such. a supply of links represents a substantial capital investment and creates sorting, storage and maintenance prob lems.

More recently, a so-called single link system has been utilized wherein the links had at least two motions thereon for effecting both the positioning and lapping motions of the yarn guides. While this system reduce'd'the number of links required to be kept on hand, such links are much more costly to make because of the accuracy involved to machine the profiled surfaces thereon.

Accordingly, an important object of the present invention is to provide guide bar positioning and lapping mechanism which overcomes the foregoing difficulties and disadvantages.

Another object is to provide such mechanism which eliminates profiled surfaces on links for positioning and lapping the yarn guides.

Another object is to provide such mechanism which can be installed on new and existing knitting machine frames.

Another object is to provide such mechanism which can be used in conjunction with both pusher and lever operated type guide bars.

A further object is to provide such mechanism which is ice simple, practical and economical in operation, is reliable in operation, and requires a minimum of maintenance.

Other and further objects of the invention will be obvious upon an understanding of the illustrative embodiment about to be described, or will be indicated in the appended claims, and various advantages not referred to herein will occur to one skilled in the art upon employment of the invention in practice.

In accordance with the present invention, the foregoing objects are generally accomplished by providing a patterning mechanism for positioning the yarn guides with respect to the needles, and a second mechanism cooperating with but independently operable of the patterning mechanism for lapping the yarn guides while positioned by the first mechanism.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a schematic front elevational view of an arrangement in accordance with the present invention for effecting positioning and lapping of a guide bar of a raschel knitting machine.

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view taken along the line 2-2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a schematic front elevational view of another arrangement in accordance with the present invention for effecting the positioning and shogging of a guide bar of a Leaver knitting machine.

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view taken along the line 5-5 of FIG. 4.

Referring now in detail to FIGS. 1 to 3 of the drawings, there is shown a portion of a raschel knitting machine, such as illustrated in my prior United States Patents Nos. 2,515,253 and 2,737,034, including a guide bar pusher 10 provided with a roller 11, patterning means such as a pattern chain 12 driven by a drum 13, and mechanism 14 in accordance with the present invention as about to be described.

The mechanism 14 generally comprises a shaft 15 driven from the drum 13 by a timing belt or chain arrangement 16, a lapping mechanism such as a cam 17 as shown or links around a chain drum rotated by the shaft 15, and an arm or lever 18 pivotally mounted at its lower end on the shaft 15 adjacent the cam 17.

The upper end of the lever 18 is positioned between the pusher roller 11 and the chain 12, and has a follower roller 19 atone side which engages the cam links of the chain 12 whereby the lever is rocked by the chain links to provide the patterning motion for the guide bar through a member such as a bar 20 at the other side of the lever which is reciprocated by the lapping cam 17 in the manner about to be described.

' The bar 20 is slidably supported on a slide 21 (FIGS. 2 and 3) formed in the upper portion of the lever 18 and including a pair of rollers 22. The lower end of the bar 20 is connected for reciprocation by the lapping cam 17 through linkage including a lever 24 having one end pivotally mounted on the lever 18 and 25 and having a follower roller 26 at its other end in engagement with the cam 17, a link 27 having its upper end pivotally connected to the lower end of the bar 20 at 28 and having its lower end pivotally connected between the ends of the lever 24 at 29, and a spring 30 having its upper end connected to the lever 18 at 31 and having its lower end in engagement with the lever 24 to urge the roller 26 against the cam 17. The upper end of the bar 20 has a cam portion 32 thereon in engagement with the pusher roller 11 to provide a lapping motion under the control of the cam 17 which motion is superimposed on the patterning motion of the chain links.

In the arrangement just described, the chain links are profiled or contoured to effect positioning of the guides on the guide bar with respect to certain needles to determine the pattern to be knit, and the cam portion 32 and the cam 17 effect the lapping motion of the guide bar which is required to lap the yarn onto the needles while the guide bar is unaffected by the chain links as the follower roller 19 rides on the circular positioning surfaces of the links. The cam portion 32 is dimensioned to lap each yarn guide across one needle, and the cam 17 has rises and dwells thereon which are circumferentially dimensioned and are rotated at a speed determined by the timing drive between the drum 13 and the shaft 15 to superimpose a -2-2-0 motion on the guide bar.

Referring now in detail to FIGS. 4 and 5 of the drawings, there is shown a portion of a Leaver warp knitting machine which includes a guide bar operating rod 40, a lever 41 having the rod connected at the upper end thereof, patterning means such as a pattern chain 12 driven by a drum 13 and engaged by a follower roller 42 on the lever, and mechanism in accordance with the present invention associated with the lever 41 as about to be described.

The mechanism for such a machine generally comprises a shaft 15 driven from the drum 13 by a timing belt or chain arrangement 16, a lapping cam 17 rotated by the shaft 15, and a follower roller 44 adjacent the lower end of the lever 41 for engaging the cam 17.

The lower end of the lever 41 is pivotally supported so that the chain links rock the lever 41 to effect patterning motion of the guide bar and the cam 17 rocks the lever 41 to superimpose the lapping motion on the guide bar while maintaining in patterning position which causes yarn to be lapped onto the needles in the same manner as described in connection with the mechanism shown in FIGS. 1 to 3.

This is accomplished by pivotally connecting the lower end of the lever 41 to the upper end of a link 45 at 46 and pivotally connecting the lower end of the link 45 to fixed structure 47 at 48. In this manner, the pivot points of the lever 41 is established by the roller 44 at its point of engagement with the cam 17. The chain links and the dwells and rises in the cam 17 are timed so that when the roller 44 is in a dwell the chain links are effective to position the guide bar to control the pattern and when the roller 42 is on the circular or at rest portion of the chain links the adjacent rise and dwell on the cam 17 rocks lever 41 about a pivot point established by roller 42 on the circular portion of the chain links whereby a rocking motion is imparted to the lever 41 which is superimposed on the patterning motion. In this embodiment of the present invention, the cam 17 is contoured to provide the 022-0 motion for the guide bar directly through the lever 41.

From the foregoing description, it will be seen that the present invention provides an extremely simple, economical and reliable mechanism for lapping the guide bars of warp knitting machines independently of cam links of the pattern chain or drum, whereby a double link system or more costly double motion links are not required.

Such mechanism is suitable for knitting machines operated at high speed and for knitting machines wherein certain guide bars are required to be shogged across a considerable number of needles to provide the embroidery effects disclosed in my United States Patent No. 3,171,- 271.

As various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts herein, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and without sacrificing any of its advantages, it is to be understood that all matter herein is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in any limiting sense.

I claim:

1. Mechanism for shogging a guide bar of a warp knitting machine comprising rotary pattern cam means, rotary lapping cam means, a lever pivotally mounted at one end thereof adjacent said lapping cam means and having a follower at its other end engaged by said pattern cam means, a first member slidably mounted on said lever having a portion at one end thereof for effecting patterning movement of the guide bar in response to movement of said lever, said portion having a cam surface for lapping the guide bar, and a second member pivotally mounted at one end on said lever and pivotally connected at its other end to the other end of said first member, said second member having a follower at its other end engaged by said lapping cam means to reciprocate said first member and cause said cam surface to superimpose a lapping motion on the patterning motion of said lever.

2. Mechanism according to claim 1, wherein said lever has a slide facing the end of the guide bar, and said first member is mounted in said slide.

3. Mechanism according to either claim 1 or claim 2, wherein said lever carries a spring which engages said second member to urge the follower of said second member against said lapping cam means.

4. Mechanism according to claim 1, including means for driving said pattern cam means and said lapping cam means in timed relationship so that lapping of the guide bar is effected while the lapping cam means is in a position dictated by said pattern cam means.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,106,434 1/1938 Morton et al 66-86 FOREIGN PATENTS 458,199 3/ 1928 Germany. 489,059 1/1930 Germany. 497,981 1/ 1939 Great Britain.

ROBERT R. MACKEY, Primary Examiner 

